92-526: The Willie Tax is the municipal 1% tax imposed on the residents of the city of Caguas , Puerto Rico . The name is derived from the proponent mayor William Miranda Marín . The tax was levied in September 2005 after much debate and protest from the local residents. It was levied as a way to charge residents for the waste disposal that the municipalities have to provide by law. It has resulted in an estimated $ 500,000 city income. This waste -related article
184-641: A chieftain , known as cacique , or cacica if the ruler was a woman. Many women whom the Spaniards called cacicas were not always rulers in their own right, but were mistakenly acknowledged as such because they were the wives of caciques . Chiefs were chosen from the nitaínos and generally obtained power from their maternal line. A male ruler was more likely to be succeeded by his sister's children than his own unless their mother's lineage allowed them to succeed in their own right. The chiefs had both temporal and spiritual functions. They were expected to ensure
276-505: A bird, a frog , or a reptile, depending on the interpretation of the myth . Zemí was also the name the people gave to physical representations of Zemis, which could be objects or drawings. They took many forms and were made of many materials and were found in a variety of settings. The majority of zemís were crafted from wood, but stone, bone , shell , pottery , and cotton were used as well. Zemí petroglyphs were carved on rocks in streams, ball courts, and stalagmites in caves, such as
368-841: A certain amount of social exclusion . A map shows these communities occur in nearly every municipality of the commonwealth. Of the 742 places that were on the list in 2014, the following barrios, communities, sectors, or neighborhoods were in Caguas: Bairoa La 25, Morales neighborhood, Parcelas Viejas in Borinquén, Sector La Barra, and Comunidad La Quebrada in Río Cañas, Hoyo Frío in Las Carolinas, Lajitas, Las Carolinas, Los Muchos, Los Panes in Beatriz, and Savarona. There are seven places in Caguas listed on
460-461: A chief was succeeded by a son of a sister. Las Casas was not specific as to which son of a sister would succeed, but d'Anghiera stated that the order of succession was the oldest son of the oldest sister, then the oldest son of the next oldest sister. Post-marital residence was avunculocal , meaning a newly married couple lived in the household of the maternal uncle. He was more important in the lives of his niece's children than their biological father;
552-643: A five-point border at the summit of Cerro La Santa , with Cayey and San Lorenzo . This is the tallest point of the Sierra de Cayey , not to be confused with Montaña Santa (officially called Cerro de Nuestra Madre) which is another mountain in the same massif located on the boundary between the municipalities of Patillas and San Lorenzo. At this point there are two tall antennas which provide signal to Puerto Rico's principal TV stations such as WKAQ-TV and WAPA-TV . No road passes exactly at this point, and it can be approached nearby through Puerto Rico Highway 184 . The city
644-661: A native Caribbean social reality . The people who inhabited most of the Greater Antilles when Europeans arrived have been called Taínos , a term coined by Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1836. Taíno is not a universally accepted denomination—it was not the name this people called themselves originally, and there is still uncertainty about their attributes and the boundaries of the territory they occupied. The term nitaino or nitayno , from which Taíno derived, referred to an elite social class, not to an ethnic group. No 16th-century Spanish documents use this word to refer to
736-546: A one cent tax for every dollar spent at all retail businesses. The tax has become known around the island as the " Willie Tax ." It resulted in an estimated $ 500,000 monthly income for the city. However, the municipal tax was increased to 1.5% after the establishment of the 5.5% state tax, for a total of 7%, and the tax was declared illegal by the Puerto Rico's Supreme Court. In 2006, Miranda Marín began calling Caguas "El Nuevo País de Caguas" ("The New Country of Caguas"). During
828-399: A receptacle for hallucinogenic snuff called cohoba , prepared from the beans of a species of Piptadenia tree. These trays have been found with ornately carved snuff tubes. Before certain ceremonies, Taínos would purify themselves, either by inducing vomiting (with a swallowing stick) or by fasting . After communal bread was served, first to the zemí, then to the cacique, and then to
920-578: A roof and 30 were flooded in the Morales neighborhood. Escuela Segunda Unidad Diego Vázquez and the Centro Multiusos flooded as well. The city and municipality of Caguas are located approximately 30 minutes from the coastline both on the east ( Humacao ) and the north ( San Juan ). It is east of Aguas Buenas and Cidra , north of Cayey , south of San Juan , and west of Gurabo and Trujillo Alto . It also shares borders with Guayama and Patillas via
1012-506: A sacred mountain on present-day Hispaniola. In Puerto Rico, 21st-century studies have shown that a high proportion of people have Amerindian mtDNA . Of the two major haplotypes found, one does not exist in the Taíno ancestral group, so other Native people are also among the genetic ancestors. DNA studies changed some of the traditional beliefs about pre-Columbian Indigenous history. According to National Geographic , "studies confirm that
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#17330854202211104-426: A solid rubber ball. Normally, the teams were composed of men, but occasionally women played the game as well. The Classic Taíno played in the village's center plaza or on especially designed rectangular ball courts called batey . Games on the batey are believed to have been used for conflict resolution between communities. The most elaborate ball courts are found at chiefdom boundaries. Often, chiefs made wagers on
1196-498: A typical village was a central plaza, used for various social activities, such as games, festivals, religious rituals , and public ceremonies. These plazas had many shapes, including oval, rectangular, narrow, and elongated. Ceremonies where the deeds of the ancestors were celebrated, called areitos , were performed here. Often, the general population lived in large circular buildings ( bohios ), constructed with wooden poles, woven straw, and palm leaves. These houses, built surrounding
1288-466: A wave of pottery-making farmers—known as Ceramic Age people—set out in canoes from the north-eastern coast of South America starting some 2,500 years ago and island-hopped across the Caribbean. They were not, however, the first colonizers. On many islands, they encountered foraging people who arrived some 6,000 or 7,000 years ago...The ceramicists, who are related to today's Arawak-speaking peoples, supplanted
1380-416: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This tax -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Caguas Caguas ( Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaɣwas] , locally [ˈkawaʔ] ) is a city and municipality in central eastern Puerto Rico . Located in the eponymous Caguas Valley between the Sierra de Cayey and Sierra de Luquillo of
1472-512: Is a basketball team that did not enjoy as much success as their baseball counterparts. However, in the early 2000s, they showed a lot of progress by reaching the national playoffs various times. The team was a member of the BSN . In 2006, the team won its first BSN national basketball championship, defeating Flor Melendez and his Santurce Crabbers in five games. Caguas is home to the Bairoa Gym , one of
1564-820: Is a distinct wet and dry season. Rainfall is common in relative abundance throughout most of the year, although there is less rain than in the eastern coastal valleys. The land, however, is fertile and deep. Like all municipalities of Puerto Rico, Caguas is subdivided into barrios : Barrios (which are, in contemporary times, roughly comparable to minor civil divisions ) and subbarrios, are further subdivided into smaller areas called sectores ( sectors in English). The types of sectores may vary, from normally sector to urbanización to reparto to barriada to residencial , among others. Comunidades Especiales de Puerto Rico (Special Communities of Puerto Rico) are marginalized communities whose citizens are experiencing
1656-450: Is a religious and cultural celebration that generally features parades, games, artisans, amusement rides, regional food, and live entertainment. Other festivals and events include: The Criollos de Caguas baseball team is considered one of the greatest of all time in all of Latin America, having won 18 national Puerto Rico titles and 5 Caribbean World Series titles The team is a member of
1748-550: Is located in one of the largest valleys in Puerto Rico, the Valle de Caguas or Caguas Valley (also known as Valle del Turabo or the Turabo Valley). Being located in a valley, Caguas has the distinction of being relatively flat except near the borders with all the mentioned municipalities except Gurabo. The valley is bordered by the Altos de La Mesa and San Luis ranges in the north,
1840-573: Is not located in a coastal area. On August 7, 2002, Caguas was the site of the 2002 USAF Hercules air disaster , where all 10 military personnel on board lost their lives after an airplane carrying them struck a mountain in the south of the municipality. Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017, triggered numerous landslides in Caguas with its wind and rain. Rivers were breached causing flooding of low-lying areas, and infrastructure and homes were destroyed. The hurricane caused $ 90 million in damages in Caguas. More specifically, 40 homes were left without
1932-764: Is the only municipality in Puerto Rico recognized as a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation . Caguas, originally founded as San Sebastián del Piñal de Caguax , is named after the local Taino chieftain Caguax , who at the time of the Spanish arrival in 1493 was cacique of the yucayeque and region of Turabo. The name Caguax itself might be related to the Taino word for snail or slug: ‘cagua’, similar to other Arawakan and Cariban proper names such as Cagua in Venezuela (from
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#17330854202212024-544: The Arawak peoples. Their language is considered to have belonged to the Arawak language family , the languages of which were historically present throughout the Caribbean, and much of Central and South America. In 1871, early ethnohistorian Daniel Garrison Brinton referred to the Taíno people as the Island Arawak , expressing their connection to the continental peoples. Since then, numerous scholars and writers have referred to
2116-1017: The COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico , the Puerto Rico Tourism Company launched the Voy Turistiendo (I'm Touring) campaign in 2021. The campaign featured a passport book with a page for each municipality. The Voy Turisteando Caguas passport page lists the Jardín Botánico William Miranda Marin , the Catedral Dulce Nombre de Jesús , the Plaza de Recreo Santiago R. Palmer and the Museo de Artes Populares as places of interest. Caguas celebrates its patron saint festival in July. The Fiestas Patronales de Nuestra Sra. del Carmen
2208-540: The Central Mountain Range , it is bordered by San Juan and Trujillo Alto to the north, Gurabo and San Lorenzo to the west, Aguas Buenas , Cidra and Cayey to the east, and Patillas to the south. With a population of 127,244 as of the 2020 census , Caguas is the fifth most populated municipality in the archipelago and island and a principal city of the San Juan metropolitan area . Since 2009, Caguas
2300-605: The Cumanagoto word cahigua ). Caguas is nicknamed "Valley of the Turabo" ( Valle del Turabo ) in reference to the former cacicazgo and yucayeque lead by Caguax. The Turabo River is also named after this geopolitical toponym. Other nicknames for Caguas include “the Criollo city” ( La Ciudad Criolla ) and “the Cradle of Trovadores ” ( La Cuna de los Trovadores ). The city is often known as
2392-523: The Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico ( LBPPR ). Three of the first five Puerto Ricans that played Major League Baseball in the U.S. mainland, at one point in their careers played for the Criollos de Caguas ( Luis Rodríguez Olmo , Victor Pellot Power , Roberto Clemente ). The Criollos de Caguas basketball team, founded in 1968 by Dr. Héctor "Tato" Dávila and Lcdo. Libertario Pérez Rodríguez (a lawyer),
2484-549: The Saladoid culture , an Arawak culture which originated in northern South America (today Venezuela ), approximately between the years 100 BCE to 600 CE. Findings from the Cagüitas archaeological site (CS-2) indicate that the area was later inhabited by various pre- Taíno (Ostionoid) cultures which first developed agriculture in the valley, primarily the cultivation of cassava , and hunted now extinct species such as hutias . As with
2576-676: The Sierra de Luquillo on the northeast, the San Lorenzo batholith to the east, the Sierra de Cayey on the south and the main range of the Cordillera Central to the west. This valley is fed mainly by the Grande de Loíza River , one of Puerto Rico's major rivers that feed into the Atlantic Ocean , and numerous tributaries such as the Cagüitas , along which the contemporary settlement of Caguas
2668-739: The US National Register of Historic Places : Other landscapes, landmarks and tourist attractions in Caguas include: The municipality of Caguas is home to various parks and natural protected areas managed by different governmental entities ranging from the municipal government, the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources , the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust , and the United States Fish & Wildlife Service . To stimulate local tourism during
2760-557: The Virgin Islands to Montserrat . Modern groups with Caribbean-Indigenous heritage have reclaimed the exonym Taíno as a self-descriptor, although terms such as Neo-Taino or Indio are also used. Two schools of thought have emerged regarding the origin of the Indigenous Caribbean people. Taíno culture as documented is believed to have developed in the Caribbean. The Taíno creation story says they emerged from caves in
2852-448: The cacique , social organization was composed of two tiers: The nitaínos at the top and the naborias at the bottom. The nitaínos were considered the nobles of the tribes. They were made up of warriors and the family of the cacique. Advisors who assisted in operational matters such as assigning and supervising communal work, planting and harvesting crops, and keeping peace among the village's inhabitants, were selected from among
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2944-402: The nitaínos . The naborias were the more numerous working peasants of the lower class. The bohíques were priests who represented religious beliefs. Bohíques dealt with negotiating with angry or indifferent gods as the accepted lords of the spiritual world. The bohíques were expected to communicate with the gods , soothe them when they were angry, and intercede on the tribe's behalf. It
3036-423: The tribe began to occupy the hierarchical position that would give way to the cacicazgo . The Taíno founded settlements around villages and organized their chiefdoms, or cacicazgos , into a confederation. The Taíno society, as described by the Spanish chroniclers, was composed of four social classes: the cacique , the nitaínos , the bohíques , and the naborias . According to archeological evidence,
3128-508: The Americas for centuries before 1492. Christopher Columbus in his journal described how Indigenous people used tobacco by lighting dried herbs wrapped in a leaf and inhaling the smoke. Tobacco, derived from the Taino word "tabaco", was used in medicine and in religious rituals. The Taino people utilized dried tobacco leaves, which they smoked using pipes and cigars. Alternatively, they finely crushed
3220-600: The Bahamas , and the northern Lesser Antilles . The Lucayan branch of the Taíno were the first New World peoples encountered by Christopher Columbus , in the Bahama Archipelago on October 12, 1492. The Taíno historically spoke a dialect of the Arawakan language group. They lived in agricultural societies ruled by caciques with fixed settlements and a matrilineal system of kinship and inheritance. Taíno religion centered on
3312-574: The Caribbean, they captured and ate small animals such as hutias , other mammals, earthworms , lizards , turtles , and birds . Manatees were speared and fish were caught in nets, speared, trapped in weirs , or caught with hook and line. Wild parrots were decoyed with domesticated birds, and iguanas were taken from trees and other vegetation . The Taíno stored live animals until they were ready to be consumed: fish and turtles were stored in weirs, hutias and dogs were stored in corrals. The Taíno people became very skilled fishermen . One method used
3404-578: The Greater Antilles as Taíno (except the western tip of Cuba and small pockets of Hispaniola), as well as those of the Lucayan Archipelago and the northern Lesser Antilles . He subdivides the Taíno into three main groups: Classic Taíno , from most of Hispaniola and all of Puerto Rico; Western Taíno , or sub-Taíno , from Jamaica, most of Cuba, and the Lucayan archipelago; and Eastern Taíno , from
3496-488: The Greater Antilles did not refer to themselves as Taínos , as the term was coined by the anthropologist Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1836. The Indigenous peoples of the Greater Antilles are sometimes referred to as Island Arawaks . At the time of European contact in the late 15th century, they were the principal inhabitants of most of what is now Cuba , the Dominican Republic , Jamaica , Haiti , Puerto Rico ,
3588-522: The Indigenous group as Arawaks or Island Arawaks . However, contemporary scholars (such as Irving Rouse and Basil Reid) concluded that the Taíno developed a distinct language and culture from the Arawak of South America. Taíno and Arawak have been used with numerous and contradictory meanings by writers, travelers, historians, linguists, and anthropologists. Often they were used interchangeably: Taíno
3680-464: The Senatorial district VII (Humacao), which is represented by two Senators. In 2016, Miguel Laureano (PNP) and José Luis Dalmau (PPD) were elected as District Senators. The municipio or municipality has an official flag and coat of arms. The colors blue and gold were chosen for the shield, distinctive of the city of Caguas. The figures symbolize both the indigenous and Christian origins of
3772-446: The Taíno islands were able to support a high number of people for approximately 1,500 years. Every individual living in the Taíno society had a task to do. The Taíno believed that everyone living on their islands should eat properly. They followed a very efficient nature harvesting and agricultural production system. Either people were hunting, searching for food, or doing other productive tasks. Tribal groups settled in villages under
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3864-429: The Taíno permission to engage in important tasks. The Taíno had a matrilineal system of kinship , descent, and inheritance. Spanish accounts of the rules of succession for a chief are not consistent, and the rules of succession may have changed as a result of the disruptions to Taíno society that followed the Spanish intrusion. Two early chroniclers, Bartolomé de las Casas and Peter Martyr d'Anghiera , reported that
3956-535: The Taínos as a physically tall, well-proportioned people, with noble and kind personalities. In his diary , Columbus wrote: They traded with us and gave us everything they had, with good will ... they took great delight in pleasing us ... They are very gentle and without knowledge of what is evil; nor do they murder or steal...Your highness may believe that in all the world there can be no better people ... They love their neighbors as themselves, and they have
4048-468: The United States conducted its first census of Puerto Rico finding that the population of Caguas was 19,857. In 2020, Caguas had a population of 127,244 compared to 142,893 in 2010. This shows an 11% decrease in the population in the municipality. The population density in 2020 was 2,200 people per square mile (850 people/km ). Hispanic or Latino of any race constitute 98.4% of the population of
4140-406: The back, and they occasionally wore gold jewelry, paint, and/or shells. Taíno men and unmarried women usually went naked. After marriage, women wore a small cotton apron, called a nagua . The Taíno lived in settlements called yucayeques , which varied in size depending on the location. Those in Puerto Rico and Hispaniola were the largest and those in the Bahamas were the smallest. In the center of
4232-470: The central plaza, could hold 10–15 families each. The cacique and their family lived in rectangular buildings ( caney ) of similar construction, with wooden porches. Taíno home furnishings included cotton hammocks ( hamaca ), sleeping and sitting mats made of palms, wooden chairs (dujo or duho) with woven seats and platforms, and cradles for children. The Taíno played a ceremonial ball game called batey . Opposing teams had 10 to 30 players per team and used
4324-510: The city. The coat of arms consists of a shield with a blue field. Upon the field are two sets of three golden arrows, forming a cross of St. Andrew . Above the cross is a crown which represents Caguax , cacique of the Turabo Valley region at the time of the arrival of the Spanish conquerors. Arrows were used as a remembrance of the first Christian place of worship established in the region which
4416-490: The colloquial Área Metro of San Juan ( San Juan , Cataño , Bayamón , Guaynabo and Carolina ), the municipality of Caguas is located in the census-based San Juan Metropolitan Area due to its role as a commuter town . The average commute time for residents of the municipality is 30.5 minutes. Caguas is the fourth most populous city in the San Juan Metropolitan region and the most populous city in Puerto Rico that
4508-524: The common people, the people would sing the village epic to the accompaniment of maraca and other instruments. One Taíno oral tradition explains that the Sun and Moon came out of caves. Another story tells of the first people, who once lived in caves and only came out at night because it was believed that the Sun would transform them; a sentry became a giant stone at the mouth of the cave, and others became birds or trees. The Taíno believed they were descended from
4600-430: The direct female line. While some communities describe an unbroken cultural heritage passed down from the old Taíno peoples, often in secret, others are revivalist communities who seek to incorporate Taíno culture into their lives. Scholars have faced difficulties researching the native inhabitants of the Caribbean islands to which Columbus voyaged in 1492, since European accounts cannot be read as objective evidence of
4692-402: The earlier foraging inhabitants—presumably through disease or violence—as they settled new islands." Taíno society was divided into two classes: naborias (commoners) and nitaínos (nobles). They were governed by male and female chiefs known as caciques , who inherited their position through their mother's noble line. (This was a matrilineal kinship system, with social status passed through
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#17330854202214784-445: The early part of the 20th century, Caguas hosted one of Puerto Rico's most important sugar manufacturers, which gave employment to thousands of Cagüeños. Numerous businesses and important buildings have opened in Caguas since the 1970s, including the imposing 23 story apartment building Caguas Tower , its adjacent competitors Bonneville Apartments, and the 10 floor Menonita Hospital . There are also several shopping centers: In 1899,
4876-500: The female lines.) The nitaínos functioned as sub-caciques in villages, overseeing the work of naborias. Caciques were advised by priests/healers known as bohíques . Caciques enjoyed the privilege of wearing golden pendants called guanín , living in square bohíos, instead of the round ones of ordinary villagers, and sitting on wooden stools to be above the guests they received. Bohíques were extolled for their healing powers and ability to speak with deities. They were consulted and granted
4968-579: The finals more than 15 times. The team is a member of the Liga de Voleibol Superior Femenino (LVSF). The Criollos de Caguas FC soccer team is considered one of the most successful clubs in the island winning multiple tournaments and cups in Puerto Rican soccer including the National League Title in 2015. In September 2005, city mayor William Miranda Marín levied the first municipal tax in Puerto Rico via city ordinance. Area merchants now charge
5060-469: The first Taíno mythical cacique Anacacuya, whose name means "star of the center", or "central spirit". In addition to the guanín, the cacique used other artifacts and adornments to serve to identify his role. Some examples are tunics of cotton and rare feathers , crowns, and masks or "guaizas" of cotton with feathers; colored stones, shells, or gold; cotton woven belts; and necklaces of snail beads or stones, with small masks of gold or other material. Under
5152-565: The fish would be stunned and ready for collection. These practices did not render fish inedible. The Taíno also collected mussels and oysters in exposed mangrove roots found in shallow waters. Some young boys hunted waterfowl from flocks that "darkened the sun", according to Christopher Columbus. Taíno groups located on islands that had experienced relatively high development, such as Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and Jamaica, relied more on agriculture (farming and other jobs) than did groups living elsewhere. Fields for important root crops , such as
5244-549: The gourd broke, an accident caused by Deminán Caracaracol, and all the water of the world came pouring out. Taínos believed that Jupias, the souls of the dead, would go to Coaybay, the underworld, and there they rest by day. At night they would assume the form of bats and eat the guava fruit. Columbus and the crew of his ship were the first Europeans to encounter the Taíno people, as they landed in The Bahamas on October 12, 1492. After their first interaction, Columbus described
5336-426: The leaves and inhaled them through a hollow tube. The natives employed uncomplicated yet efficient tools for planting and caring for their crops. Their primary tool was a planting stick, referred to as a "coa" among the Taino, which measured around five feet in length and featured a sharp point that had been hardened through fire. Contrary to mainland practices, corn was not ground into flour and baked into bread, but
5428-483: The men made wooden war clubs, which they called macanas . It was about one inch thick and was similar to the coco macaque. The Taínos decorated and applied war paint to their face to appear fierce toward their enemies. They ingested substances at religious ceremonies and invoked zemis. The Taíno were the most culturally advanced of the Arawak group to settle in what is now Puerto Rico . Individuals and kinship groups that previously had some prestige and rank in
5520-400: The most important boxing gyms in all Puerto Rico and a place where many local and visiting champions and otherwise notable boxers have trained at; such as boxing Welterweight Champion Miguel Cotto , his brother Jose Miguel , Alberto Mercado , Juan Carazo , Alfredo Escalera and others. The Criollas de Caguas women's volleyball team has won 9 national Puerto Rico titles and has made it to
5612-590: The municipality. There are also communities of Dominicans , Cubans and Colombians . All municipalities in Puerto Rico are administered by a mayor , elected every four years. The mayor of the city of Caguas were 1953 to 1969 - Angel Rivera PPD 1969 to 1973 - Miguel Hernandez Rodriguez (New Progressive Party (PNP)) 1973 to 1977 - Angel O. Berrios Diaz (PPD) 1977 to 1981 - Miguel Hernandez Rodriguez (PNP) 1981 to 1997 - Angel O. Berrios Diaz (PPD) 1997 to 2010 - William Miranda Marín (PPD) 2010 to present - William Miranda Torres (PPD) The city belongs to
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#17330854202215704-409: The people depended on. The men also fished and hunted, making fishing nets and ropes from cotton and palm . Their dugout canoes ( kanoa ) were of various sizes and could hold from 2 to 150 people; an average-sized canoe would hold 15–20. They used bows and arrows for hunting and developed the use of poisons on their arrowheads. Taíno women commonly wore their hair with bangs in front and longer in
5796-629: The population of Caguas was 19,857. The city grew considerably in size during the 1970s and quickly became an exurb of San Juan to the north due to its location. The region of Caguas became an important pharmaceuticals manufacturing center during this time. Pharmaceutical companies originally came to Puerto Rico in the late 1960s and 1970s to take advantage of the now-expired federal tax incentive known as Section 936 . This incentive allowed U.S.-based manufacturers to send all profits from local plants to stateside parent plants without having to pay any federal taxes. Although not typically seen as part of
5888-536: The possible outcome of a game. Taíno spoke an Arawakan language and used an early form of proto-writing in the form of petroglyph , as found in Taíno archeological sites in the West Indies . Some words they used, such as barbacoa ("barbecue"), hamaca ("hammock"), kanoa ("canoe"), tabaco ("tobacco"), sabana (savanna), and juracán ("hurricane"), have been incorporated into other languages. For warfare,
5980-471: The region of Caguas is susceptible to earthquakes. The municipality is located along the Great Northern Puerto Rico fault zone (GNPRfz) and in recent times the region experienced moderate size earthquakes in 1990 and 2010 . The climate is classified as a tropical monsoon climate , meaning the daily mean temperature from month to month is never less than 64.4 °F (18.0 °C), and there
6072-551: The rest of Puerto Rico, the Taínos were the primary group living in the valley at the time of the Spanish arrival . The Spanish conquistadors further developed the agriculture in the valley, while also establishing mines in search of gold , silver and copper . Most of the native Taínos living in the area were either forced out or taken as slaves and moved to the Real Hacienda del Toa (in modern-day Toa Alta and Toa Baja ). Most of
6164-453: The sea and the mountains". He was considered the spirit of cassava, the zemi of cassava – the Taínos' main crop – and the sea. Guabancex was the non-nurturing aspect of the zemi Atabey who was believed to have control over natural disasters. She is identified as the goddess of hurricanes or as the zemi of storms. Guabancex had twin sons: Guataubá, a messenger who created hurricane winds, and Coatrisquie, who created floodwaters . Iguanaboína
6256-451: The settlement was granted the title of Villa and it was granted city rights in 1894. Sugarcane was the primary crop during this time and important sugarcane plantations and refineries were those of Central Santa Juana (close to modern day Plaza Centro ) and Central Santa Catalina (modern day Las Catalinas Mall ). The Carretera Central , which is the first paved road to cross Puerto Rico from north to south connecting San Juan to Ponce ,
6348-500: The shore that they were taíno , i.e., important people, from elsewhere and thus entitled to deference. If taíno was being used here to denote ethnicity, then it was used by the Spanish sailors to indicate that they were "not Carib", and gives no evidence of self-identification by the native people. According to José Barreiro , a direct translation of the word Taíno signified "men of the good". The Taíno people, or Taíno culture, have been classified by some authorities as belonging to
6440-443: The staple crop yuca , were prepared by heaping up mounds of soil, called conucos . This improved soil drainage and fertility as well as delayed erosion while allowing for the longer storage of crops in the ground. Less important crops such as corn were cultivated in clearings made using the slash-and-burn technique. Typically, conucos were three feet high, nine feet in circumference, and were arranged in rows. The primary root crop
6532-585: The term Taíno should refer to all the Taíno/Arawak nations except the Caribs , who are not seen as belonging to the same people. Linguists continue to debate whether the Carib language was an Arawakan dialect or a Creole language . They also speculate that it was an independent language isolate, with an Arawakan pidgin used for communication purposes with other peoples, as in trading. Rouse classifies all inhabitants of
6624-465: The term to indicate that they were the "good men", as opposed to the Caribs. According to Peter Hulme, most translators appear to agree that the word taíno was used by Columbus's sailors, not by the islanders who greeted them, although there is room for interpretation. The sailors may have been saying the only word they knew in a native Caribbean tongue, or perhaps they were indicating to the "commoners" on
6716-554: The tribal affiliation or ethnicity of the natives of the Greater Antilles. The word tayno or taíno , with the meaning "good" or "prudent", was mentioned twice in an account of Columbus's second voyage by his physician, Diego Álvarez Chanca , while in Guadeloupe . José R. Oliver writes that the Natives of Borinquén, who had been captured by the Caribs of Guadeloupe and who wanted to escape on Spanish ships to return home to Puerto Rico, used
6808-485: The uncle introduced the boys to men's societies in his sister and his family's clan. Some Taíno practiced polygamy . Men might have multiple wives. Ramón Pané, a Catholic friar who traveled with Columbus on his second voyage and was tasked with learning the Indigenous people's language and customs, wrote in the 16th century that caciques tended to have two or three spouses and the principal ones had as many as 10, 15, or 20. The Taíno women were skilled in agriculture, which
6900-413: The union of the cultural hero Deminán Caracaracol and a female turtle (who was born of the former's back after being afflicted with a blister). The origin of the oceans is described in the story of a huge flood that occurred when the great spirit Yaya murdered his son Yayael (who was about to murder his father). The father put his son's bones into a gourd or calabash . When the bones turned into fish,
6992-534: The unity of the Indigenous communities in a territory; they would band together as a defensive strategy to face external threats, such as the attacks by the Caribs on communities in Puerto Rico. The practice of polygamy enabled the cacique to have women and create family alliances in different localities, thus extending his power. As a symbol of his status , the cacique carried a guanín of South American origin, made of an alloy of gold and copper. This symbolized
7084-420: The valley was later cleared of its original vegetation for the development of cattle farms such as Hato de Bairoa , Hato de Caguax and Hato de Gurabo . Caguas was officially founded on January 1, 1775, as San Sebastián del Piñal de Caguax , with the name later being shortened and modernized to its current form. The site of the historic downtown area of Caguas and its central square dates to 1779. In 1820,
7176-409: The welfare of the tribe and to protect it from harm from both natural and supernatural forces. They were also expected to direct and manage the food production process. The cacique's power came from the number of villages he controlled and was based on a network of alliances related to family , matrimonial, and ceremonial ties. According to an early 20th-century Smithsonian study, these alliances showed
7268-430: The wild. Taíno spirituality centered on the worship of zemis (spirits or ancestors). Major Taíno zemis included Atabey and her son, Yúcahu . Atabey was thought to be the zemi of the moon , fresh waters, and fertility. Other names for her included Atabei, Atabeyra, Atabex, and Guimazoa. The Taínos of Kiskeya (Hispaniola) called her son, "Yúcahu|Yucahú Bagua Maorocotí", which meant "White Yuca, great and powerful as
7360-557: The worship of zemis . Some anthropologists and historians have argued that the Taíno were no longer extant centuries ago, or that they gradually merged into a common identity with African and Hispanic cultures. However, many people today identify as Taíno or have Taíno descent, most notably in subsections of the Puerto Rican , Cuban , and Dominican nationalities. Many Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and Dominicans have Caribbean-Indigenous mitochondrial DNA , suggesting Taíno descent through
7452-664: The zemi carved into a stalagmite in a cave in La Patana, Cuba. Cemí pictographs were found on secular objects such as pottery, and tattoos . Yucahú, the zemi of cassava, was represented with a three-pointed zemí, which could be found in conucos to increase the yield of cassava. Wood and stone zemís have been found in caves in Hispaniola and Jamaica. Cemís are sometimes represented by toads , turtles, fish, snakes , and various abstract and human-like faces. Some zemís were accompanied by small tables or trays, which are believed to be
7544-464: The “center and heart of Puerto Rico” (c entro y corazón de Puerto Rico ) for its geographical location, and one of its municipal anthems bears the same. In recent years the municipality has also been referred to as “the new Caguas country” or “the new land of Caguas” ( el nuevo país de Caguas ) by the media and the former mayor William Miranda Marín . The area of the Valley of Caguas was first settled by
7636-669: Was applied to the Greater Antillean natives only, but could include the Bahamian or the Leeward Islands natives, excluding the Puerto Rican and Leeward nations. Similarly, Island Taíno has been used to refer only to those living in the Windward Islands , or to the northern Caribbean inhabitants, as well as to the Indigenous population of all the Caribbean islands. Many modern historians, linguists, and anthropologists now hold that
7728-598: Was built during the last two decades of the 19th century, made Caguas more accessible therefore causing the population of the town to grow even more. Puerto Rico was ceded by Spain in the aftermath of the Spanish–American War under the terms of the Treaty of Paris of 1898 and became a territory of the United States. In 1899, the United States Department of War conducted a census of Puerto Rico finding that
7820-502: Was built. The city's nickname Valle del Turabo comes from the Turabo River , which is another tributary that flows from the south. The Gurabo River , another major tributary, feeds into the Grande de Loíza at a region where the valley narrows into a rift valley that runs from west to east and ends in Humacao in the southeastern coast of the island. As with other parts of Puerto Rico,
7912-451: Was cooked and eaten off the cob. Corn bread becomes moldy faster than cassava bread in the high humidity of the Caribbean. Corn also was used to make an alcoholic beverage known as chicha . The Taíno grew squash , beans , peppers , peanuts , and pineapples . Tobacco , calabashes (bottle gourds), and cotton were grown around the houses. Other fruits and vegetables, such as palm nuts , guavas , and Zamia roots, were collected from
8004-531: Was dedicated under the patronage of St. Sebastian . There are pineapples interspersed to reflect the native agriculture. A castellated wall surmounts the shield to show the city's having been granted status as a municipality by the Spanish Crown . Ta%C3%ADno Taíno is a term referring to a historic Indigenous people of the Caribbean , whose culture has been continued today by their descendants and Taíno revivalist communities. Indigenous people in
8096-482: Was the goddess of good weather. She also had twin sons: Boinayel, the messenger of rain, and Marohu, the spirit of clear skies. Minor Taíno zemis are related to the growing of cassava, the process of life, creation, and death. Baibrama was a minor zemi worshiped for his assistance in growing cassava and curing people of its poisonous juice. Boinayel and his twin brother Márohu were the zemis of rain and fair weather, respectively. Maquetaurie Guayaba or Maketaori Guayaba
8188-409: Was the zemi of Coaybay or Coabey, the land of the dead. Opiyelguabirán', a dog-shaped zemi, watched over the dead. Deminán Caracaracol, a male cultural hero from whom the Taíno believed themselves to be descended, was worshipped as a zemí. Macocael was a cultural hero worshipped as a zemi, who had failed to guard the mountain from which human beings arose. He was punished by being turned into stone, or
8280-420: Was their duty to cure the sick, heal the wounded, and interpret the will of the gods in ways that would satisfy the expectations of the tribe. Before carrying out these functions, the bohíques performed certain cleansing and purifying rituals , such as fasting for several days and inhaling sacred tobacco snuff. Taíno staples included vegetables, fruit, meat, and fish. Though there were no large animals native to
8372-408: Was to hook a remora , also known as a suckerfish, to a line secured to a canoe and wait for the fish to attach itself to a larger fish or even a sea turtle. Once this happened, someone would dive into the water to retrieve the catch. Another method used by the Taínos involved shredding the stems and roots of poisonous senna plants and throwing them into nearby streams or rivers. After eating the bait,
8464-421: Was yuca or cassava , a woody shrub cultivated for its edible and starchy tuberous root . It was planted using a coa , a kind of hoe made completely from wood. Women processed the poisonous variety of cassava by squeezing it to extract its toxic juices. Roots were then ground into flour for bread. Batata ( sweet potato ) was the next most important root crop. Tobacco was grown by pre-Columbian peoples in
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